Google regularly updates its navigation app with new features while testing other novelties with the help of beta releases, and Google Maps keep getting better as a result. But Google is also somewhat cluttering the app with features that might not necessarily need a home inside a navigation app. That’s because Google wants you to use Google Maps for almost everything you’d need during your travels. And that includes taking advantage of what is probably the coolest Google Maps feature yet, which finally just went live on both Android and iPhone.
Google explained the new Google Maps feature in a blog post, saying that it wants Google Maps to “simplify every step of your trip once you’ve touched down-from getting around a new city to reliving every moment once you’re home.”
Google Maps will now include all your travel data, such as flight and hotel reservations, which will all be placed in a new Reservations menu item inside the hamburger menu. Also of note, it works regardless of whether or not you have an active internet connection.
Maps will also now include “amazing local food” suggestions, complete with information about how long the wait is, and popular dishes.
With Location History enabled, which is a sensitive topic for Google, Maps will offer you an updated Timeline to help you remember your last vacation.
This brings us to Google Maps’ amazing augmented reality (AR) navigation feature, which has been in testing for a while now. Live View uses an actual view of your surroundings and places virtual directions on top of them, and it’s rolling out to Android and iPhone devices that support ARCore or ARKit.
If you’re finding it difficult to use navigation on Maps, the AR mode will surely come in handy, as you can see in the GIF below. While Live View is included in Google’s post about making Google Maps a hub that can handle all your traveling needs, it’s definitely the kind of Maps trick that you could use anywhere, not just on vacation.
